DUNE
(TBA) - PREVIEW

New movie version of the
classic Frank Herbert novel Dune, by Pierre Morel, the director of
Taken and From Paris with Love.

Dune spawned five sequels
written by Herbert, and inspired a 1984 film adaptation by David Lynch,
and in 2000 two mini-series made by the SCI FI Channel, computer games, a
board game, and a series of prequels and sequels co-written by the
author's son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

The original 1965 novel centers on a remote desert
planet called Arakis, which is the sole provider of the universally loved
spice fuel Melange. A power struggle ensues over who will control the
spice.

“As a David Lynch movie, I loved it,” Pierre Morel said
in a recent interview of the 1980s version. “[But] as a fan [of the book],
I was not such a huge fan.”

“[My movie] is all about the first book. I’m trying to
be very respectful to the original novel, but it’s a challenge. There’s a
lot of expectation, all the readers will be waiting for me with their
shotguns. All the non-readers will also be waiting for us, because it’s
such a complex novel and you have to make it accessible to those who have
not read the book. So, it’s a tough challenge but I’m very excited about
that.”

WE SAY

Paramount Pictures has dropped the Dune remake
and the holder of the book rights is re-accessing his options. This
follows director Pierre Morel's departure. Maybe Paramount finally caught
on that the 1980s movie was actually a box office flop?